NEW ALBANY, Ohio — A New Albany mother spent her Thursday at the Plain Township Aquatic Center as the summer days are winding down. But as the mother began to breastfeed her child, she says an employee at the pool asked her to move to the bathroom citing the pool's policy.
"The lifeguard said, 'Excuse me, you can't nurse here. We would prefer if you went to the bathroom instead,'" said Vanesa Dyckman.
According to Ohio law, Dyckman had every right to breastfeed in the pool area.
"Our babies shouldn't have to eat in the bathroom," Dyckman said.
This action triggered a ripple effect of proud mothers who came together on Friday to show solidarity for their friend and educate others about the state's breastfeeding laws.
Dyckman said that her breastfeeding journey has been as successful as it is because of her group of friends who have supported her.
"I'm a breastfeeding educator so I knew right away that it is legal to breastfeed your baby in public, covered or uncovered, whatever the mother's preference is," said Dyckman's friend Brittany Kovacs.
Dyckman said this experience could have completely deterred her and ruined her breastfeeding journey.
"It's a big deal for moms to be nursing in public sometimes. It’s a lot, the way that people view it is sometimes negatively seen," said Cierra Rider, a friend of Dyckman.
For this group of moms, educating and expressing their rights means everything.
"We want to talk about empowering women and equality and all these things and it's like this. This is empowering women to do the best thing for her child," Rider said.
Plain Township reached out to Dyckman and apologized for the misunderstanding, saying the township supports and welcomes all breastfeeding moms.
Township Administrator Ben Collins provided the following statement:
"Plain Township welcomes all nursing moms and supports breastfeeding. We apologize for this miscommunication and are educating all lifeguards and staff about breastfeeding in Ohio. This was an isolated occurrence and nursing moms have breastfed at the pool throughout the summer. We want all moms to feel welcomed and comfortable breastfeeding at our facility."